all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: in just a few hours, president barack obama and former massachusetts governor mitt romney will take the stage at the university of denver's magness arena for the first of three election debates. tonight's encounter, moderated by the "newshour's" own jim lehrer, is to focus on domestic policy. the first half of the 90-minute face-off will be spent on the number one issue for most voters this year: the economy. joining us for the debate, and here with us now to preview what to expect tonight are two familiar faces syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. gentlemen, welcome. the night is finally here. mark, no pressure, just 60 million people will be watching. what are you looking for from tonighta encounter? >> what i'm look

me just make this comment. i'm sorry, jim, i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs. i like pbs, i love big bird. i actually like you, too. i'm not going to keep spending money on things -- >> let's -- >> let's get back to medicare. the president said the government could provide it at a lower cost without a profit. let's -- >> let's not. let's let him respond. let's let him respond to this specific on dodd/frank and what the governor just said. >> massachusetts governor mitt romney rolling over the debate moderator, jim lehrer, of pbs last night during the first presidential debate of this campaign season. joining us now for the interview is dan rather, host of "dan rather reports" on access tv. anchor of cbs' "evening news" for 20 years and a veteran observer of the campaigns. thank you. >> always a pleasure to be here. >> what is your reaction overall to the debate last night? i am amssuing you think mitt romney won the debate. what do you think is important about it? >> i think what's important about it is it gives governor romney a chance to get a second look from the electorate. w

did have his own awkward moderator moment. >> i'm sorry, jim, i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs, i like big bird, like you, too. >> reporter: one of the surprising pts of the president's performance is what he didn't say, no mention of romney's 47% remark, no talk of bain capital, nothing about romney's own taxes. he did play the romney is a hypocrite card when it comes to health care. >> the irony is we've seen this model work really well in massachusetts. because governor romney did a good thing working with democrats in the state to set up what is essentially the identical model and as a consequence, people are covered. there it hasn't destroyed jobs. >> reporter: romney who ran from his massachusetts health care plan during the gop primaries now used it to attack to the middle to the general election. >> i like the way we did it in massachusetts. i like the fact that in my state we had republicans and democrats come together and work together. what you did, instead, was to push through a plan would the a single republican vote. >> reporter: and romney's countless hours of rehea

, jim, i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs and stop other things. i like pbs and i love big bird and i like you, too but i will not keep spending money on things to borrow money from china to pay for it. >> chris: now was that smart, as a way to show that he is serious about cutting spending or always a mistake to take on big bird? >> well, y know, big bird is pretty popular but, you know, maybe the president would say big bird didn't build his own nest, i don't know. but, you know, i think that it is -- you know, it probably, you know, maybe not going after big bird, but, certainly, pbs, and, public broadcasting is popular in terms of taking them on in the spending, you know, on the spending side. i don't think he was going down the wrong path, maybe not with big bird. >> chris: a couple of minutes left. i want to look forward. what do you expect from this week's vice presidential debate between joe biden and paul ryan in. >> well, i am sure tha vice president biden got a phone call from the white house, and said, you know, look, we didn't go after governor romney as much and you have

of it. i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs. i'm going to stop other things, and i like pbs, and i love big bird. i like you too, but i'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from china to pay for it. [ screaming ] >> okay. the last part definitely doctored. we're just guessing that. fake big bird got right on to twitter in no time. by this morning big bird had almost 25,000 followers. look what big bird has been tweeting out. i like being able to fire people and large talking birds, mitt romney. 47% of chick-fil-a chickens think their victims -- birds of a feather collect food stamps together. mitt romney. i'm about to fly south for the tax season. caymen islandsbound, hash tag. breaking news, donald trump deman's to see big bird hatched eggs certificate. big bird is now trending big on social media. just take a look at some of the photoshop that is we've pulled up from the internet and there are hundreds. that's my favorite right there. we to cut off the expletive at the bottom. the mentions of big bird increased by nearly 800,000% after mitt romney's com

to stop the subsidy to pbs and other things. i love big bird and i actually like you, too. i'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from china to pay for are it. >> was that smart as a way to show that he is serious about cutting spend or is it always a mistake to take on big bird? >> well, big bird is pretty popular but maybe the president would say big bird didn't build his own nest, i don't know. but i think that it is -- it probably maybe not going after big bird but is certainly pbs and public broadcasting is popular in terms of taking them on in the spending side. i don't think he was going down the wrong path. maybe not so much with big bird. >> chris: a couple of minutes left. i want to look forward. what do you expect from this week's vice presidential debate between joe biden and paul ryan? >> well, i am sure that vice president biden got a phone call from the white house and said you know look, we didn't go after governor romney as much and so you have got to turn up the heat. because the debates are about controlling the ground. whoever is viewe

what mr. romney had said. >> i'm sorry, jim, i'm goingo stop the subsidy to pbs. i'm going to stop other things. i like pbs. i love big bird. i actually like you, too. but i'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from china to pay for. >> it prompted a plurry of internet activity supporting big bird and the public broadcasting system. what's the truth? could big bird going bye bye? joining us now a reporter from the christian science monitor. good morning. >> good morning. >> are big bird and pbs really in any danger here? >> i don't think big bird's had things this good in awhile. he's huge on twitter now. his twitter presence increased like 800,000%. and the thing about big bird and "sesame street," they have so much outside funding that it's not like "sesame street" is going to disappear. pbs, though, that subsidy, it's a sizeable chunk of their budget. it would be a big blow. >> about how much? do you have a perspective on how much that is? how much the government chips in? >> it fluctuates year to year. it's about 10 to 15%. in 2011 about 12% of pbs's

: i'm sorry jim i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs and other things. i like big bird. i actually like you too. >> jennifer: that, ladies and gentlemen leads to our sixth and final mitt lie of the night so romney wants us to believe that cutting funds to pbs is going to fix the deficit. not true. in 2010, the federal government gave $300 million to pbs of course is not chicken scratch but $30300 million is about 1/100 of 1% of the total federal budget. one thing is sure, firing big bird sure ain't going to fix the deficit. as you can imagine romney's big bird dis has not gone over well with the residents of "sesame street" including elmo who sat down with this exclusive interview with our own brett ehrlich. shh, brett's talking now. >> listen, i know how you can lose a debate but what i don't know is how you can lose a debate to a guy who during that debate said that he wanted to cancel "sesame street." when i say i'm fond of someone i don't then vow to fire them. i wanted to talk to someone that this statement might hurt the most and for that, we talked to my close personal frien

of pbs. >> we still have trillion dollar deficits. the cbo says we'll have a trillion dollar deficit each of the next four years. >> reporter: these two men, they are virtually strangers to each other personally. they've only met in person three times before tonight. most recently, in passing, on a debate stage in new hampshire way back in 2008, when republicans followed democrats in debate three days before the primaries. and there was this brief encounter on the campaign trail in 2007. >> good luck to you today. >> reporter: and while they have both reached the pinnacle of party politics, they are so different. their talents and their paths to power and their debate styles. so much at stake on that stage tonight. this showdown comes at what might be the critical moment in this campaign. a hinge of political history. polls show the race tightening, just 34 days left in this campaign. and you can already sense in the crowds the special energy of the home stretch. but tonight, surprisingly, and in contrast to the daily scrap on the trail, no zingers, no roundhouse punches. hardly any

entire pbs crew. the debate focus around the economy as we knew it would and the candidates traded jabs over tax policies for the middle class. >> romney: under the president's policies middle income americans have been buried. they've been crushed. i will not under any circumstances, raise taxes on middle income families. >> obama: now, five weeks before the election, he's saying his big, bold idea is never mind. >> romney is saying he would push for tax relief is another flip-flop. from his statement a few weeks ago that we should not expect a huge cut in taxes if he's elected president. we'll do some fact checking for you in the next current news update. despite the lies and contradictions from romney, a new cnn poll says 67% of voters do think he won the debate. more bill press coming up after the break. stay with us. you're about to watch an ad message created by a current tv viewer for capella university. matter. education is the key. it is the vehicle. it's the way in which we evolve. every journey is different every possibility is unique. but the beginning, the beginning is

stop the subsidy to pbs. i'm going to stop other things. i like pbs. i like big bird. i actually like you, too. but i'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from china to pay for. that's number one. >> that comment definitely ruffled some feathers. in fact, someone created a twitter handle "fired big bird." he or she has sent out several tweets and pictures, fired big bird has already more than 23,000 followers. >>> the vice presidential candidates will face off in their only debate a week from today. it will take place at center college in danville, kentucky. the maryland congressman chris van holland has been playing the role of paul ryan. >>> the next presidential debate will be on october 16th in long island, new york. the second debate will take place on the campus of hofstra university and will be in the format of a town hall meeting. that means undecided voters will ask the questions. the candidates will focus on foreign and co-do mdomestic pol. >>> tim kaine is opening up a gap in the virginia senate race. tim kaine is leading republican george allen 4

, but not for the same reason as you. number four -- >> i'll stop the subsidy to pbs. i like big bird. gerri: making big bird a star with saturday night live, jimmy fallon, all trying to book the star. his people saying he's not talking to the media. we were turned down by big bird. it's appalling. number three -- >> and at some point, i think the american people have to ask themselves is the reason that governor romney is keeping all of these plans to replace secret because they are too good? gerri: romney is planning to give a number of policy speeches filling in the details that obama says are missing. here's number two. >> don't forget, you put $90 billion, like 50 years worth, of breaks into solar and wind to solyndra and fisker. you just don't e pick the winners 5e7 losers, but just the losers. gerri: that was my favorite. he said that would have hired 2 million teachers. first, the number one most memorable line is this -- >> mr. president, your entitled as a president to your own airplane and house, but not your own facts. gerri: that's a zinger. no wonder romney was the winne

cutting pbs funding might not directly endanger big bird since "sesame street" gets most of its money from corporate funding and donations. still, mitt romney was depicted making big bird thanksgiving dinner. if romney wins, i die, but governor romney offered some hope. >> i'm not going to kill big bird, i promise, but there can be advertisements on pbs to help pay for big bird. big bird is going to have to get used to kell logs corn flakes. maybe this is what it would have sounded like. >> i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs. >> reporter: >> oh, that's too bad. >> reporter: if big bird joined the debate. >> i like pbs. >> reporter: >> oh. >> i like big bird. >> really. >> reporter: jeanne moos, new york. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm randi kaye. victor blackwell is off today. it is 8:00 on the east coast, 5:00 a.m. out west. thanks so much for starting your day with us. we begin this hour with the latest jobs numbers. they are providing ammunition in the battle for the white house. the labor department says 114,000 jobs were created in september with the unemployment rate co

middle class. it's -- it's math. it's arithmetic. i'm sorry, jiem, i like pbs. i like big bird and i like you too but i'm not going to keep on spending money from things to borrow money from china to pay for it. that has to be negotiated with congress. when i ran for mayor, i said i was going to cut taxes by a certain level. i didn't know how i was going to do it exactly. i had to negotiate that. so i think he's given as much specifics as president obama ever gave in 2008 when he ran for president, probably a lot more. >> mr. giuliani, just to make sure how much news was made tonight, am i still correct that the romney campaign's official position is they want to extend indefinitely or permanently the push tax cuts on the table, which would cut taxes for high income individuals? i don't think that's a matter of debate yet mitt romney seemed to repudiate that. >> if you extend the bush tax cuts, you keep taxes where they are. if you don't extend the bush tax cuts, you raise taxes. >> they're set to expire. it was your party that set them to expire i would add. i didn't to that, the re

. how did the former gop candidates feel about the mitt romney pledge to stop funding for pbs if elected president? first, rick santorum last night on cnn. >> would you kill big bird? >> well, as a matter of fact, i voted to kill big bird in the past. it doesn't mean i don't like big bird. you can kill things and still like them. maybe to eat them, i don't know. >> you can kill things but still like them? very interesting. >>> on to newt gingrich who went to one zoo after another during his presidential campaign. newt was on cnn last night with former michigan governor jennifer granholm, an active obama supporter, of course. let's take a look. >> newt gingrich, should big bird be killed or not? >> that's total baloney. big bird makes millions and millions of dollars annually. >> save big bird! >> it's a commercially profitable show. i would save big bird by liberating big bird from the bureaucracy. >> jennifer granholm looks like she's still at the convention in charlotte. of course, he's a big bird fan. may look like he and granholm are on the same page, but newt still wants to

after romney said in his first debate, he would de-fund pbs. what heart attack should play president obama in a movie about his life. the first lady has two actors on her short list, ali star, will smith, and denzel washington. you knew he'd be ton there. the very talented smith says he definitely has the ears for it. >>> jetblue is offering a flight plan to folks who might not be happy about the outcome of the election. the airline says they will fly anyone upset over their candidate's loss out of the country, temporarily, though. it's all part of a contest on jetblue's website that lets voters pick a candidate and if they lose, they will be entered to win one of a thousand trips to a tropical destination. >>> call it a chipotle off the old photo block. mitt romney posing for one unforgettable picture after stopping for a bite to eat at the popular food chain on tuesday. check out the guy on the right. that is one bug-eyed fans. and rapper nas is taking part, saying casting a ballot is the ultimate form of empowerment. >> can go to the polls in droves -- i didn't mean for that to ki

: good morning, i am a big fan of amy goodman. i saw a documentary on pbs for what was called free elections that i have not had a chance to really look at it. it is about getting the votes to the people where they have to be obliged to the people. that is one thing. i would like to see cspan to start on that. every time i see wal-mart commercials and they talk about feeding the hungry and talk about how much money they have raised, it makes me so angry when they won't even pay their people a living wage. if we had a living wage, we would not have to have people would not have to have people on

the segment. i'll make the comment. i'll stop the subsidy to pbs. i like pbs and big bird and i like you, too, but i'm not going to keep spending money on things to borrow money from china to pay for it. they said they could provide the service without a cost and at a lower profit. if that's the case that will always be the best product that people can purchase but my experience is that the private sector is typically able to provide a better product at a lower cost. >> let's let him respond. >> i had five seconds before he interrupted me. >> this was the debate tonight that was substantive. thick with policy and it had a few moments of very sharp contrast. >> this is where there's a difference because governor romney's central economic plan calls for a $5 trillion tax cut. on top of the extension of the bush tax cuts, that's another trillion and $2 trillion additional military spending that the military hadn't asked for. that's $8 trillion. how we pay for that, reduce the deficit and make the investments that we need to make without dumping those costs on the middle-class ameri

can be advertisements on pbs to help pay for big bird. big bird is going to have to get used to kell logs corn flakes. maybe this is what it would have sounded like. >> i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs. >> reporter: >> oh, that's too bad. >> reporter: if big bird joined the debate. >> i like pbs. >> reporter: >> oh. >> i like big bird. >> really. >> reporter: jeanne moos, new york. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm randi kaye. victor blackwell is off today. it is 8:00 on the east coast, 5:00 a.m. out west. thanks so much for starting your day with us. we begin this hour with the latest jobs numbers. they are providing ammunition in the battle for the white house. the labor department says 114,000 jobs were created in september with the unemployment rate coming in at 7.8%, that's a drop of 0.3 from august. the obama and romney campaign jumped on these figures and, of course, they came down on opposite sides. cnn political editor paul steinhauser joining us this morning. good morning, paul. so there's one month, hard to believe, till election day, and no issue bigger than jobs, right

lehrer of the macneil- lehrer news hour on pbs, and i will be the moderator for this 90-minute event, which is taking place before an audience in the athletic complex on the campus of washington university in st. louis, missouri. three journalists will be asking questions tonight. they are john mashek of the boston globe, ann compton of abc news, and sander vanocur, a freelance journalist. we will follow a format agreed to by representatives of the clinton and bush campaigns. that agreement contains no restrictions on the content or subject matter of the questions. each candidate will have up to 2 minutes for a closing statement. the order of those, as well as the questioning, was determined by a drawing. the first question goes to mr. perot. he will have 2 minutes to answer, to be followed by rebuttals of one minute each from governor clinton and then president bush. gentlemen, good evening. the first topic tonight is what separates each of you from the other. mr. perot, what do you believe tonight is the single most important separating issue of this campaign? >> i think the

. >> he just told the moderator who works at pbs, i'm going to throw your ass out on the street, old man! you -- not only you, but all of those free loloading muppets. that takes not just one ball, but two, two enormous balls. ha-ha-ha! >> mitt romney won the debate last night, which means president obama lost two fights on his anniversary last night. the president seemed a little bit out of it last night. he had all the enthusiasm of a husband talking to his wife's friends at a dinner party. he kept looking down and frowning. it was like he was trying to find something on apple maps. the only thing that could have salvaged obama's performance is if the body of bin laden could have fell from the ceiling onto the stage. >> obama could have waterboarded alladin, put down blue, deported dora the explorer and won walking away. romney won with the sound off. look up, look up. what are you writing's so important? oh, that's -- that is impressive work. >> oh, my gosh, i love that. >> finally, to another race, one as close as the presidential contest. >> family circle's, cookie bake-off, ann

cuts expire? i want to play video from the houston pbs forum when you are asked, do you want to do away with bush tax cuts? >> the very thing we will have to do -- we will have to let the bush tax cuts go. in order to pay down the national debt. at the end of the day, if you look at the budget, a look at the budget you get down to military and defense spending or the bush tax cuts. >> are you talking about the bush tax cuts on all income levels? >> there is no qualification in that statement. what i said, and i still stand by, there are three things that doubled on national debt -- the bush tax cuts, -- >> the question is, do you want to expire them in total? there was no qualification. >> i am getting there. i think, and i still say, that we have to look at every single one of them and determine if we can use some of that money to pay down our national debt. we can lie to the american people or tell the truth. the truth is that those tax cuts, if we let them expire, will increase our national debt by almost one-half. >> what is your position, mr. cruz? >> i would not allow the bus

morning, i am a big fan of amy goodman. i saw a documentary on pbs for what was called free elections that i have not had a chance to really look at it. it is about getting the votes to the people where they have to be obliged to the people. that is one thing. i would like to see cspan to start on that. every time i see wal-mart commercials and they talk about feeding the hungry and talk about how much money they have raised, it makes me so angry when they won't even pay their people a living wage. if we had a living wage, we would not have to have people on food stamps and we would not have to have people struggling. host: before i get a response, what would be your definition of a living wage? guest it is different for every area. caller: in our area, look much housing is. you cannot make enough money to even rent a home. one more thing -- i love president obama but my anger is when they went into the negotiations for health care, they took the public auction off the table. to me, that is the foundation of it. like she said about medicare for all, there is a choice. that is real choice o

the subsidy to pbs. i like big bird. i actually like you, too. i'm not going to keep on spending things to borrow money from china to pay for it. if that's the case, it will always be the best product that people can purchase. >> wait a minute. >> my experience is the private sector typically is able to provide a better product at a lower cost. >> can we -- can the two of you agree that the voters have a choice, a clear choice -- >> absolutely. >> -- between the two of you on medicare. here's the specifics -- >> let me mention the other one. let's talk about the big one. >> no, let's not. >> the last point i'd make before -- >> two minutes is up, sir. >> no, i think i had five seconds before you interrupted me was -- >> now they all know how i feel. let's go to politico, but i have to say, he was good even when he was making a ridiculous point about pbs. go ahead. >> well, the thing is, though, he made an overarching argument that every conservative movement conservative i've talked to has been wanting to make. and that is there's a place for government, and there's a place for f

as the debate begins here in denver. we will broadcast the debate, moderated by jim lehrer of the pbs news hour. he will pose the question to the major candidates. then we will hit pause and expand the debates. candidates will be here with us in the studio also in denver, dr. jill stein and rocky anderson, both third-party presidential candidates. gary johnson was invited but he will not be in the city. we will expand the debate just as if they were standing there at the university of denver. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. check democracynow.org. back in a minute. [♪] candidates. then we will hit pause and expand the debates. candidates will be here with >> a song inspired by comments of the convicted murderer who went on a shooting spree at an elementary school in 1979. spencer showed no remorse for her crime. her full explanation for her actions were, "i do not like mondays. this livens up the day." this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. we are broadcasting from just outside denver, colorado, in littleton, colorado.

jim lehrer of the newshour on pbs, and i welcome you to the first of three 90-minute debates between the democratic candidate for president, vice president al gore and the republican candidate, governor george w. bush of texas. the debates are sponsored by the commission on presidential debates and they will be conducted within formats and rules agreed to between the commission and the two campaigns. we'll have the candidates at podiums. no answer to a question can exceed two minutes. rebuttal is limited to one minute. but as moderator i have the option to follow up and to extend any particular give and take another three-and-a-half minutes. even then, no single answer can exceed two minutes. the candidates under their rules may not question each other directly. there will be no opening statements, but each candidate may have up to two minutes for a closing statement. the questions and the subjects were chosen by me alone. i have told no one from the two campaigns, or the commission, or anyone else involved what they are. there is a small audience in the hall tonight. they ar